This Week in Crusader Soccer: Valpo concludes the 2008 regular season this weekend travelling to Wisconsin for a pair of key Horizon League matches. The Crusaders will face Green Bay on Friday evening before battling nationally-ranked Milwaukee Sunday afternoon.

On the Air: Neither the Green Bay nor the Milwaukee matches will be carried live this weekend. Live stats will be available through www.valpoathletics.com.
Head Coach John Marovich: John Marovich is 10-5-1 in his first season overall and with Valpo after serving as an assistant for six years. Just the third coach in program history, he has moved into second place all-time in victories for the Crusaders.

Series Notes: Green Bay holds an 8-1 advantage all-time against the Crusaders dating back to 1993, but the Brown and Gold won last year’s meeting 3-1 on October 14 at Eastgate Field. The Phoenix hold a 4-0 advantage in Green Bay. The Panthers are 8-0 all-time against the Crusaders, also dating back to Valpo’s inaugural year of soccer, 1993, including a 4-0 edge in Milwaukee. Last year Milwaukee notched a 2-0 victory in Valparaiso on October 12.

Wrapping Up Last Week’s Action: Cara Morawski scored the only goal of the match on Friday with 13:17 to play as Loyola downed Valpo 1-0 at Eastgate Field. Sunday, on Senior Day, Mikki Nuccio scored twice in the second half and Mele Cabral made four saves on her way to a shutout as the Crusaders defeated Cleveland State 2-0 in the regular season home finale.

Scouting Green Bay: The Phoenix snapped a four-match winless streak on Sunday afternoon defeating Butler 2-1 in Green Bay. Chelsea Lyons leads the Green Bay offense with four goals and 10 points while Claire Townsend has added three goals and a team-leading nine assists. Maddie Drusch has played every minute in goal, recording a 1.24 goals against average and an .838 save percentage. She also has three shutouts.

Scouting Milwaukee: The Panthers have won four straight matches, all via shutout, following a 5-0 victory over Butler on Sunday. Sarah Hagen leads the Horizon League with 17 goals while Nicole Sperl and Kate Megna have eight and seven assists respectively. Erin Kane sports a 0.79 goals against average between the posts and a .794 save percentage. She has recorded seven shutouts on the season.

Nuccio Finds the Back of the Net: Mikki Nuccio scored her first two collegiate goals on Sunday in the Valpo victory. The freshman now has five points on the season, and was credited with her first match-winning tally as well.

Johnson Makes First Appearance Count: Lori Johnson stepped onto the field for the first time in 2008 on Senior Day after battling injuries and recorded an assist just 1:12 after taking to the pitch. The helper moved her into a tie for ninth all-time on the Valpo list with eight.
McGlone and Brown Second All-Time in Assists: Kendall Brown moved into a tie with Dana McGlone for second place on Valpo’s all-time assist list with her 11th career helper against Cleveland State. The duo are just two assists shy of Lindsay Holley’s (2001-2004) school record of 13.

Thomas a Mainstay in the Lineup: Jackie Thomas enters the weekend having started all 73 matches that the Crusaders have played during her Valpo career and she is tied for ninth all-time at Valpo for most career starts. With two starts this weekend she would move into a tie for sixth all-time.

Scoring First Key to Valpo’s Success: Valpo is 9-1 this season when scoring the first goal of the match, but just 1-4 when surrendering the opening goal.

Cabral Sets Single Season Shutout Record: Mele Cabral added to the school’s single season shutout record with her eighth clean sheet of the season against Cleveland State. The eight shutouts as a team tie a school mark for a Valpo team as well. Her 10 career shutouts rank second all-time in Valpo history.

Among the Nation’s Best: As a team, Valparaiso ranks 27th in the country with a 0.672 goals against average and 25th in save percentage at .853. The Crusaders are also 47th in shutout percentage at .500 and their .656 winning percentage is 69th best in all of Division I. Individually, Mele Cabral is 33rd with the .851 save mark and 36th in goals against average with the 0.672 mark.
Valpo Picked Fifth in Preseason Poll: The Crusaders were selected to finish in a tie for fifth place in the Horizon League based on the preseason poll conducted of the league’s head coaches. Milwaukee was picked to win the league.